Dell UEFI USB Boot


  1. mattygm
    Posts : 3
    10
       New #1

    Dell UEFI USB Boot


    Hi all,

    Sorry if this question has been asked before. I have already gone through a number of fixes but nothing seems to be working for me so far.

    I have been provided with a USB with an MDT image on to re-image a number of PCs but soon realised it was formatted in NTFS due to the .WIM file being so large and Dell UEFI with Secure Boot will only boot from FAT32 which we need to use now as a directive from Management. I have tried splitting the .WIM into smaller .SWM files and moving back to the original location on the USB but this failed and also attempted to copy the USB data onto a multi partition USB 1GB as FAT32 and the other 57GB in NTFS which was recognised at boot but failed straight away. I am learning as i am going along here so please bare with me. Has anyone any other suggestion on what i can try here or am i fighting a losing battle?

    Many thanks,
    Matt.
      My Computer
    Quote Quote

  3. zbook
    Posts : 41,474
    windows 10 professional version 1607 build 14393.969 64 bit
       New #2

    See if you can use the information in this link:
    Create bootable USB installer if install.wim is greater than 4GB
      My Computer
    Quote Quote

  4. mattygm
    Posts : 3
    10
    Thread Starter
       New #3

    Thanks, will give that a go today and see how i get on.
      My Computer
    Quote Quote

  6. mattygm
    Posts : 3
    10
    Thread Starter
       New #4

    No joy im afraid zbook.

    What i have is an existing NTFS 64GB USB with an MDT image on that holds all drivers etc for all our models and a .wim that is 5GB that cannot be split down. Our new Dell desktops will not boot from this NTFS drive and so need to try and copy data from the stick onto a FAT32 so we can use UEFI and Secure Boot. Any other ideas to try?

    Cheers
      My Computer
    Quote Quote

  7. Macboatmaster
    Posts : 1,612
    11, 10, 8.1 and 7 all Professional versions, and Linux Mint
       New #5

    I am a little puzzled ,you say

    I have been provided with a USB with an MDT image on to re-image a number of PCs
    and then you add
    Dell UEFI with Secure Boot will only boot from FAT32 which we need to use now as a directive from Management.
    I can follow that, but what I cannot understand is that the use of the MDT image is for the purpose of
    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/win...mage-using-mdt
    deployment across the network - whatever that network actually is, using the principle of MDT - the Microsoft deployment toolkit.


    This is specialised work, outside of the normal home situation and as you say
    which we need to use now as a directive from Management.
    I get the impression that you are responsible for some number of computers within a business environment of some nature.

    Whilst we are keen to help whenever possible, it appears to me that IF my assumption is correct, then this perceived problem is a matter you should refer to the IT dept of the business/commercial enterprise.

    My strong advice is that on an issue such as this, where I presume the data on ONE computer of the network, depending again on the nature of the network/domain, may be at risk if you get the attempt wrong - is an issue that as I said should be referred to the IT dept, not seeking advice on a forum, excellent, as this one is of course.

    IF I have the situation wrong then please accept my apologies.
    Last edited by Macboatmaster; 28 May 2020 at 05:08.
      My Computer
    Quote Quote

  8. Matthew Wai
    Posts : 7,607
    Windows 10 Home 20H2
       New #6

    mattygm said:
    What i have is an existing NTFS 64GB USB with an MDT image on that holds all drivers etc for all our models and a .wim that is 5GB that cannot be split down. Our new Dell desktops will not boot from this NTFS drive and so need to try and copy data from the stick onto a FAT32 so we can use UEFI and Secure Boot. Any other ideas to try?
    Assuming your problem is that 5 GB is too large for FAT32, you may put the whole image onto the second, NTFS partition of a USB device whose first, FAT32 partition contains Windows PE, which is bootable. I am now running Windows PE, which is on the first, FAT32 partition of a USB device, whose second, NTFS partition contains a Windows ISO file. See the screenshot below:



    Windows PE: Why Windows 10 Home in my computer is different from others?

    If I got the situation wrong, please accept my apologies.
      My Computer
    Quote Quote

  9. zbook
    Posts : 41,474
    windows 10 professional version 1607 build 14393.969 64 bit
       New #7

    UEFI requires FAT32.
    Legacy can boot from NTFS and FAT32.

    Windows 10 iso can be in WIM and ESD format.

    The new version of Windows should be released before the end of the month.

    A new Windows 10 iso can be created on an 8 GB or larger flash drive or the iso can be downloaded to the desktop.

    If the above work then your set.
    If the above do not work then please explain in more detail what you need with the restrictions or limitations.
      My Computer
    Quote Quote

  10. Berton
    Posts : 14,020
    Win10 Pro and Home, Win11 Pro and Home, Win7, Linux Mint
       New #8

    I tried the MCT/Media Creation Tool and made the mistake of using a 64GB USB Thumb drive, as mentioned it would only format FAT32 up to 32GB, a limit of Windows. The MCT process wipes the USB drive before formatting, best to have nothing on it that doesn't exist anywhere else. The remaining unallocated space on the drive couldn't be dealt with by Disk Management, had to clean and rebuilt as FAT32 64GB using the Bootable GPARTED LiveCD. The same program is usually included with a number of versions of the Linux OS of which most are free.
    DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD.
    GParted -- A free application for graphically managing disk
    device partitions
      My Computers
    Quote Quote

  12. Megahertz
    Posts : 6,320
    Windows 11 Pro - Windows 7 HP - Lubuntu
       New #9

    Matthew Wai said:
    Assuming your problem is that 5 GB is too large for FAT32, you may put the whole image onto the second, NTFS partition of a USB device whose first, FAT32 partition contains Windows PE, which is bootable. I am now running Windows PE, which is on the first, FAT32 partition of a USB device, whose second, NTFS partition contains a Windows ISO file. See the screenshot below:



    Windows PE: Why Windows 10 Home in my computer is different from others?

    If I got the situation wrong, please accept my apologies.



    Make two partitions on your USB drive.
    On the first one (2G - Fat32) copy all files and folders from windows-10-recovery-tools iso
    On the second partition (large NTFS) put the MDT image.

    Boot from the USB drive as UEFI (windows-10-recovery-tools)- open Explorer, go to the NTFS partition and run setup to install on the desired drive.

    Rem.: If you want to boot the USB drive as Legacy, make the Fat32 partition active
      My Computers
    Quote Quote

  13. Matthew Wai
    Posts : 7,607
    Windows 10 Home 20H2
       New #10

    Note that you should run "/sources/setup.exe" after mounting the ISO file.
    Download Windows PE from: Bob.Ombs.Modified.Win10PEx64.v4.6.7z - Google Drive
    This one has many optional tools in the /Programs/ folder, so the FAT32 partition has to be as large as 4 GB.
    If you exclude the tools, the partition can be reduced to 1 GB.
      My Computer
    Quote Quote

 

  Related Discussions
My laptop started displaying a screen during some shutdown attempts and would restart instead. I had to take a picture to read it and it said "Flash update failed, flash image invalid or not found, system will reset in 5 seconds." This prompted me...
Hi folks recently I couldn't get some newer iso's from UUPDUMP to boot using RUFUS V 10 to create bootable usb sticks when these isos are HYBRID boot (i.e they can boot either MBR or UEFI). However changing the BIOS options to enabling UEFI boot...
Hi folks if you want to test such things as UEFI boot or even Secure boot on a VM running on older hardware that doesn't have UEFI boot it's still easily possible. On for example Linux host running KVM/QEMU a Windows VM ( This also works on...
I want to enable UEFI with Secure Boot and I do have an option to enable Secure Boot. But how can I tell if I am running UEFI firmware version 2.3.1.c ? Because to enable Secure Boot, machines must have UEFI firmware version 2.3.1.c I went to...
I have a Dell Inspiron 660 with i5 processor. I recently installed a trial version of Acronis True Image 2016, and it modified the UEFI boot parameters to produce a menu at bootup which offers 3 choices: Acronis True Image, Acronis System Report and...
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 10 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 10" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

 © Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:39.
Find Us




Windows 10 Forums